New CMYK conversion behaviour in CS4 ?

RP
Posted By
Russell_Proulx
Oct 28, 2008
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305
Replies
2
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Closed
With previous versions of Photoshop, when an RGB image in a given RGB colourspace was converted to CMYK by choosing Mode -> CMYK, it would convert to whatever CMYK was set as the Working Space in the Color Settings. With CS4 there’s a warning dialogue that appears that makes one wonder if CS4 is behaving differently. It now says:

"You are about to convert to CMYK with no color profile. This may not be what you intend. To choose a profile, use Edit > Concert To Profile".

The resulting CMYK would certainly *have a profile* as it’s the default selected in the Color Settings > Working Spaces menu. It’s the same as if I had a CMYK file and selected Mode > RGB. This would convert from CMYK to whatever default RGB space is set in the Working Spaces menu. Yet from CMYK to RGB there is no such warning. Why not… the same logic would seem to apply.

I think the warning just confuses to user and makes them think an error’s about to occur. A more appropriate warning might be:

"You are about to convert to your default CMYK (Color Settings > Working Spaces). This may not be what you intend. To choose another profile, use Edit > Convert To Profile".

Or is there something else going on?

Russell
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M
Mylenium
Oct 28, 2008
Well, the warning actually works as per your suggestion. By default PS will assign a CMYK profile, so the message is not empty. You only get that, when you have for some reason to not use a profile. The lack of such messages for RGB is logical in my view – since CMYK has a smaller gamut range in most colors, it can be converted 1:1 to RGB without requiring any limiting by color profiles…

Mylenium
RP
Russell_Proulx
Oct 28, 2008
By default PS will assign a CMYK profile

No, it *converts it* to the default CMYK profile. It could only *assign* a CMYK profile once it’s already in a CMYK colourspace. And you would only do so if your file was saved without the profile info and you were forced to guess, or re-assign the one you know is correct. Photoshop has to convert the RGB document to CMYK and historically uses the profile you have set as the CMYK Working Space in the ‘Color Settings’.

So why would it state: "You are about to convert to CMYK with no color profile." That’s just wrong (imo). If it’s not converting using the CMYK Working Space profile then what’s it using as the basis of its conversion?

Russell

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